Expect smaller jobs numbers, White House advisor Hassett

 National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett expects that jobs numbers could be subdued as productivity surges and the labor supply declines, he said on Monday during a broadcast interview. The Bureau of Labor Statistics January Employment Situation report is due out on Wednesday, a slight delay from the short partial government shutdown last week.

On the positive side, GDP growth, which typically fuels labor demand, "is through the roof," he said in an interview on CNBC. "Even with a revised down GDPNow, we're looking at 4% growth into the end of the year, 3% for the year as a whole."

"I think you should expect slightly smaller job numbers," Hassett said. "One shouldn't panic if you see a sequence of numbers that are lower than you're used to because, again, population growth is going down and productivity growth is skyrocketing. It's an unusual set of circumstances."

The consensus of economists estimates that ~67K jobs were added in January, up from 50K the BLS initially estimated for December. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.4%.

With immigration significantly restricted, "the breakeven job number is quite a bit lower than it was under Joe Biden," when immigration was much higher, he said."The open question really is: What's going to happen to jobs as productivity goes up?" Hasset commented. "And I think there's a chance that job creation lags as productivity skyrockets, GDP skyrockets. I think that kind of transition could happen."

As for the potential for another partial government shutdown as the White House and lawmakers wrangle over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, "It really feels like the government shutdown game is behind us," he said.

"I know that there's a few things to be worked out in the end, but I don't think I've talked to anybody on either side of the aisle that is interested in having another government shutdown," Hassett added.

"There is a possibility" of another shutdown, but he expects negotiations will eventually yield an agreement on funding.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/expect-smaller-jobs-numbers-white-house-advisor-hassett-says/ar-AA1VZz29